JP10-141485A published by the Japan Patent Office describes a vehicle installed with an automatic transmission comprising a manual mode in which the gear position can be selected freely in accordance with the intent of a driver. According to another known technique for improving drivability, the gear position is upshifted (an auto upshift is performed) in accordance with the engine rotation speed and so on even when the driver is currently selecting a certain gear position in the manual mode, and thus an increase in engine rotation speed is prevented until fuel is cut in order to protect the engine and transmission.